“To everything there is a
purpose, and a time to every season under the Heaven:
A time to be born, and a
time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.”
A time to kill, and a time
to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time
to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”—Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 (KJV)
I don’t know
about you, but doors to unknown places can make me uncomfortable. I’m
especially uneasy when a solid door is on a wall with no windows. I have no way
of knowing what’s behind there.
I’ve also
seen enough movies and TV reality shows to acknowledge that pleasant exteriors
can cover up all kinds of suffering. After all, the Amityville
Horror House in Long Island, New York looks like a typical upscale family
home. It is currently on the market for $850,000.
If someone
wants to get obsessive, they can worry about coming across portals to other
dimensions or alternate realities. That’s the stuff of science fiction, fantasy,
or Civil War ghost stories.
It’s scary. It’s
difficult to be prepared for whatever surprises may come. Here are two
suggestions:
Take a leap of faith.
I like the
analogy of a person ascending a staircase. In the near darkness, he may only be
able to see one step at a time. That doesn’t stop him, though. The person knows the staircase will eventually end.
It doesn’t matter if the path is steep and winding; the result is the same.
He walks in faith.
Many of us
take similar real-life risks. Here are a few situations that may shift
throughout our lives:
- Relationships
- Careers
- Hobbies
- Religion
Once we move
onto a new level, we must leave the old one behind. It served our purpose for a
while, and we learned from it. The truth is that it no longer suits us. The old
labels don’t work anymore.
For
instance, we aren’t children forever.
Everybody grows up and takes their place in the world. I didn’t want my
kids to grow up, but they’re both adults now. Realistically speaking, I can’t
be raising kids in my old age. They’re meant to prepare for an independent life,
even though I’m fighting a melancholy feeling about it.
My Conclusion
“When one door closes, another door
opens, but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door,
that we do not see the ones that open for us.” --Alexander Graham Bell
It’s not
easy to let go of the past and reach for an unknown future. The road to
progress is rarely clearly defined; that’s why courage is necessary.
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